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Complications

Authoring team

Complications of rubella are rare and include: (1)

  • thrombocytopaenia
    • occurs in about 1 in 3000 individuals with rubella
    • commonly seen in children
  • encephalitis and polyneuritis
    • encephalitis – 1 in 6000 cases
    • frequent in adults
  • arthritis or arthralgia in adolescents
    • seen in up to 70% of adult women with rubella
    • usually fingers, wrists, and knees are affected
    • chronic arthritis is rare
  • in pregnant women (2)
    • during first trimester – miscarriages, foetal deaths/stillborn
    • congenital rubella syndrome – may present with one or more of the following
      • cataracts and other eye defects
      • deafness
      • cardiac abnormalities
      • microcephaly
      • intra-uterine growth restriction
      • lesions of brain, liver, lungs and bone marrow

References:

  1. UK Health Security Agency. Rubella (German measles): guidance, data and analysis. Published 1 April 2013. Last updated 22 November 2022
  2. Mawson AR, Croft AM. Rubella Virus Infection, the Congenital Rubella Syndrome, and the Link to Autism. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Sep 22;16(19):3543

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